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“But...” My throat was dry. “Magic to transform one living being into an inanimate object would take so much out of you, it’d kill you. To do all of these people at once... I don’t...” I trailed off, words failing me.
“Your husband, our lord, is a great and powerful man,” she said, pride leaking out of her. “Nothing can stop him. No one can stand in his way.”
“Yes,” I rasped as the doors closed behind him. “I’m beginning to see that now.”
“ARE YOU SURE HE’S OKAY?”
Aeris scoffed. “That fool is fine. Do not trouble yourself over Bradach, my lady.”
Sitting me down at the vanity, Aeris began the process of unloosing my braids, and combing my hair until it shone.
“But it’s my fault he’s now banned from the castle until the marking scent fades,” I argued. “I should’ve chosen a personal guard who could touch me without getting killed by my husband.”
“You have such a guard.” She nodded to Eadaoin in the mirror, who waved back. “That idiot knew he wasn’t your guard. He was hanging around you for no reason, just seeking out trouble where he can find it.”
I bit my lip, guilt burning my gut.Bradach was hanging around me, because he wanted to be closer to you.“Aeris, the only trouble he got into today was risking his life to save mine.”
“I—” Hesitating, her frown softened. “I know, I know. Forgive me. Bradach did well today. He showed bravery I didn’t know he had in him, and put your safety ahead of his own. He just... scared me,” she said under her breath. “And surprised me. I don’t like it when he does either.”
It was funny, but I knew exactly what she meant. Alisdair both scared and surprised me that day too, and hours later, I couldn’t sort through my jumbled feelings to understand why it unsettled me so much.
After Alisdair chased Bradach out into the village and sent him flying for the mountains, court was closed. I spent some time catching my breath in our freezing bedchamber, before changing and heading down to the war room. Part of me thought that Alisdair would breeze in while I studied the maps of all the places I dreamed of going.
It was Aeris who finally stuck her head in. She summoned me for a bath and dinner in my dressing room—alone.
Alisdair and I left things in such an odd place. He went from furious at me, to saving my life, then trying to kill an innocentman for touching me. What was I supposed to make of all that? What would I say to him that night when he came for me?
“Aeris, can I ask you something? What is this?” I produced the purple flower I tucked into my pocket that morning. It was so pretty, I couldn’t resist. Part of me hoped to bring it home to Mama and my faywens, and plant a whole bush of them on our patch. “I’ve never seen a flower like this.”
She glanced up, eyes bugging.
“It’s obviously a magical flower but—”
“My lady!” Her shout made me jump. A quick wave of her hand, and the flower crumbled to dust.
“Aeris,” I cried. “What was that for?”
“I’m sorry, Lady Ana. I didn’t mean to startle you. It’s just that by law, we have to destroy those flowers on sight.”
“Wait, what?” I slapped at my hand. “Is it poisonous?”
“Not to us,” she muttered.
Aeris tipped my head down, going for the braids along my neck. I wanted to ask her why she went through the trouble of doing my hair into intricate braids in the morning, only to undo her work that night. I wanted to ask, but I sensed I already knew.
The life of a paper princess is as tedious as a paper queen. We did all these pointless, time-wasting tasks to distract me from the fact that this kingdom survived without me for a century, it continued on during my presence, and would carry along just fine long after I left.
“That flower is poisonous to our Lord Shadowsoul.”
My body went rigid. “Excuse me? What did you say?”
“The All Mother demands a balanced world. All things are born. All things die. She will not stand for an immortal being—although many have used magic and curses to achieve that very end.”
I stared at my lap, listening close.
“Lord Lumenfell may very well be the most powerful being in this land or any other, but Meya always has the last word. Whenever he uses great amounts of magic—those flowers spring up. As I said, they’re poisonous to him.”
My mind spun. “Are you allowed to tell me this?”
